


The Seas of Change

by BrightestSun



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Comedy, Cute, Dysphoria, F/F, Fluff, Romance, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transgirl Marco, my first SVTFOE fic, trans!marco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 15:32:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15975236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightestSun/pseuds/BrightestSun
Summary: Marcie is newly out, well, she's out to herself, Star and her parents. Taking that next step is proving to be a bit of a hurdle though. She's especially scared of losing her newly developed relationship with Jackie.A story about love, support, sushi and dysphoria





	The Seas of Change

“Coming out is strange. You take the first step and you think it’s going to be over, then you realize there’s a next step that’s just as terrifying, then a next one. Am I ever going to get to a point where I don’t have to fear what people are going to think about me being this way?” Marcie looked out the window, unsure what to do with herself.

 

“I don’t know Marcie. Gender’s a big deal to a lot of people for some reason. Mewmans and humans alike. Did you know demons just switch to whatever suits them?” Star kicked her feet against the edge of the bed, musing more to herself than to Marcie.

 

“really?” 

 

“totally” Star shrugged “when I first met Tom he was a girl named Trish. We flirted, I told her I wasn’t super into that and the next time I saw her, Boom! Tom.”

 

Marcie blinked, needing a minute to process that. “You think Tom prefers being Tom or Trish? If he… or she is happier as Trish and just staying Tom for you, that’d be pretty messed up.”

 

Star shook her head “I don’t think so. Most demons supposedly just don’t care whatsoever, so supposedly Tom’s the way he is now because he hasn’t had reason to change, if someone would prefer Trish that’s when she’d appear, but either way, to him, or her, it’s just a matter of who he is right now, not who he wants to be.”

 

Marcie drew a hand through her magically lengthened hair, she could feel a twinge of jealousy at the idea of just being able to swap whenever more so the idea of just not caring about this stuff. Then again, Tom had his own issues, just because gender was a big deal to her didn’t mean that Tom’s issues were any smaller. 

 

Marcie suddenly remembered Tom trying to exorcise himself. Thinking about it, that sounded a bit like dysphoria too. Though he'd seemingly done it for Star, but maybe there was more to it. Did Tom experience demon dysphoria? was that a thing? She wished Tom and her were closer, she’d be interested in talking to him about it. Who knows, maybe he’d like Marcie better than he had liked her before, but then, if what Star said was true, then it shouldn’t matter to Tom. 

 

Marcie realized she’d been sitting quietly, contemplating stuff while Star was in the room. She looked over at her best friend who seemed worried about her. The look of sympathy made Marcie frown, she felt like she was being pitied.

 

“Can’t believe you let me sit there just thinking to myself. You usually interrupt me after 5 seconds at most.” she smiled jokingly.

 

Star chuckled nervously “yea, and sure after the first minute I thought ‘should I say something’ but at that point, it felt like it was too late right?” she threw her head back exasperatedly “then minute two rolled around and I thought ‘why didn’t I say something a minute ago! Now it’s DEFINITELY too late!”

 

Marcie chuckled. She placed a hand on Star’s, looking into her eyes reassuringly “I’m ok Star, you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me just because I’m Marcie now.”

 

Star nodded slowly “I know… it’s just… I want your transition to be the best transition EVER! I don’t want to ‘Star it up’. It should be about you, and sometimes I fear I make stuff about you, about me instead. Like that time we went camping and my dad hijacked the entire thing.”

 

Marcie laughed “it’s sweet of you to be considerate. I like when things get Star’ed up though. But come on, don’t bend over backward for me. The best thing you can do is treat me like nothing’s changed except for the obvious.”

 

Star smiled “really?” 

 

Marcie nodded assuringly.

 

Star sighed relieved “alright! Just do nothing different ‘cause I’m already perfect. I think I can manage that!”

 

Marcie scoffed “I wouldn’t go that far.”

 

“Nonono friend.” she placed a hushed finger over Marcie’s mouth “you’ve already made yourself clear, no need to elaborate. I’m perfect and should never change!” Star laughed maniacally, clearly joking to some extent, but Marcie laughed with her, she wasn’t entirely sure how much, which was a worrying thought. 

 

The two hugged. Marcie couldn’t ask for a better friend than Star, she’d been the first to know that she was struggling with her identity, and she’d helped her find out what was going on, to discover what being trans meant, and just how much it applied to her. 

 

She wasn’t sure she would have had the courage to tell her parents if not for Star’s support, not this early anyway. And having a princess who not only excelled at make up and clothes but also held a magical wand, she was probably the luckiest trans woman in the world. Forget the gay best friend to a straight woman, every trans woman needed a straight best friend like Star.

 

“For real though, if there’s anything I can do to make things easier for you, I’ll do it,” Star said reassuringly, leaning closer and repeating in a sinister tone “anything.”

  
  


Marcie pushed her away with a smile “I think I’m good. Only thing I still need to do is come out to Jackie” she chuckled nervously, unable to hide the worry in her voice. 

 

Star scoffed “please! she’ll be so supportive!”

 

Marcie played with her hair again, seriously, how did girls with long hair not play with it literally all the time. “Maybe. But it’s not that simple I mean… We’re DATING Star! Or she was dating the old me? I don’t know what she’ll say…”

 

“oooooooh” Star scratched the back of her head “Do you know if she likes girls?” Marcie shook her head. “Do you still like her? I mean do you still like girls?”

 

Marcie nodded “of course, Jackie’s like the most awesome person in the world! Guys are kind of terrible, I definitely don’t want to be one, but that doesn’t mean I want to be WITH one either.”

 

Star nodded “then you just have to tell her the truth and hope she still likes you” she smiled as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

 

“What if she doesn’t like me back anymore though?” Marcie’s shoulders fell, she’d wanted to be with Jackie for over half her life, almost as long as she’d known she wanted to be a woman. The thought of having to choose between the two was twisting her stomach into knots.

 

Star thought for a moment “I’m sure she’ll like you once she gets to know the real you” she asserted. “So how do we make sure she gets to meet the real you for real?” She began pacing the room with a serious expression. 

  
  


Marcie swallowed, knowing that only bad things could come from Star’s twisted mind when she got like this. “Star, promise you won’t tell her!”

 

Star raised a hand and placed her other over her heart “of course! I would never do that!” after her promise she returned to her sinister pondering, which just increased Marcie’s worrying.

 

“And promise, no crazy schemes!”

 

“sure”

 

“And no magical shenanigans!”

 

“of course!” Star put a hand on Marcie’s shoulder “it’s going to be alright. Everything will be fine.” she smiled reassuringly, but there was a hint of that sinister smile, she had a plan. 

 

Before Marcie could tell her not to do whatever it is she was going to do, Star slipped out of the room, ignoring Marcie’s protests behind her.

  
  
  
  


“Star I’m not sure about this.” Marcie tried to hold her balance as Star dragged her along. The blindfold made it difficult to maneuver, and Star’s barely contained excitement made her practically run down what Marcie had to guess was a pier. or some other salt smelling, seagull infested, windy place. Detroit maybe, or the seagull dimension, she desperately hoped Star hadn’t taken her to the seagull dimension again. 

 

Star made a series of short shushing noises “it’s going to be fine Marcie. Everything will be great.” She took a sudden turn, running up a wooden bridge at a steep angle. Marcie tried to follow but felt her leg caught air and she almost tripped over the side into what had to be a steep drop into cold seawater. 

 

She steadied herself for a second before being dragged the rest of the way onto a deck. She could hear the sounds of creaking boards, working sailors and wood against wood. 

 

“Alright ready for your surprise!?” Star giggled with barely contained excitement.

 

“we’re on a ship” Marcie responded coldly.

 

“WE’RE ON A SHIP! oh…” Star removed Marcie’s blindfold, allowing her to take in her surroundings. 

 

It was an antique but beautifully cared for ship. It had to be at least a hundred years old, the light brown wooden railings were polished to a shine and the light shone through the large white sails which moved gently in the wind. 

 

The ship was fitted with a central structure which seemed to be a late addition, judging by the different wood and feel of it. It was darker and less elegant than the rest of the ship. On the side of the structure facing out towards the port, “Suki the Sailor’s Sushi” in large wooden letters. 

 

Marcie scratched her neck, taking it all in. “It’s a… floating restaurant?” she turned to Star who smiled broadly at her.

 

“That’s right! a floating restaurant which WE are going to be working at” she put a confident hand on her hip, her pose made Marcie think that maybe Star was expecting applause.

 

Marcie looked between Star and the restaurant “I don’t get it.”

 

“Oh Marcie, sweet innocent Marcie.” Star said condescending “I’ve been thinking, ‘what does Marcie need’, and it hit me, she needs some time to just be, figure herself out. Go from port to port and meet strangers who don’t know her. And I thought since you didn’t want magic and you love boats, then what better way than on a boat!”

 

Marcie shook her head softly, smiling despite herself, “I don’t know Star, I think I just need to go at my own pace with this.”

 

Star sighed exasperatedly “that’s what you said weeks ago! When are you going to actually start telling humans other than your parents!?”

 

Marcie frowned, crossing her arms “hey I’m making progress! I almost told Alfonzo and Ferguson this Monday!” 

 

Star cocked an eyebrow “and then what happened?”

 

Marcie blushed “well… I mean… There just wasn’t a time when it came up ok!? It’s hard to weave in naturally to a conversation!”

 

Star rolled her eyes “did you hoodie hermit?”

 

Marcie felt her words stuck in her throat as she tried to protest, trying to deny the reality that as soon as she tried getting the words out to her friends, she’d started getting increasingly self-conscious, increasingly afraid. 

 

She’d been friends with Alfonzo and Ferguson pretty much forever, and she knew they’d probably understand. Still, it was hard to ignore the things they’d said occasionally. Like the time they thought Alfonzo might be getting catfished by some girl online, the stuff they’d both said at the prospect of it being someone who wasn’t ‘a real girl’ as they’d put it, was enough to make her want to shrink into nothingness.

 

Before she realized what was happening she found herself on the ground, fully inside her comfortable hoodie, having shrunk into a hoodie burrito. She’d done this occasionally before when she felt out of her depth in a social situation, but lately, this happened every time she tried to come out.

 

“Wow… Hoodie hermit-ception.” Star marveled “is this going to be one of those things, like hungry Larry? when you mention the Hoodie hermit she’ll appear?” Star tapped her boot softly against Marcie’s leg. “Marcie, you know I love you, but this has been going on for far too long. I’ve been patient, I’ve waited for you to do things your way. I know I can’t do this MY way either, so now we’re doing this. The neutral way, the sushi way.”

 

Marcie didn’t answer, allowing her hermit silence to be her clear answer on how she liked the plan. She could hear Star blowing hair out of her eyes in frustration “well if you’re going to be that way then I’m just going to go get us the jobs!”

 

She could hear Star walking off, she wanted to point out to Star that it was impossible that she could just walk up and get a job like that, that she should have talked to someone first. Then she realized that Star’s short-sightedness was actually a good thing this time. It meant she was going to get to go home soon and have her usual Friday, put on a movie, staring at the screen and wonder if anyone would actually accept her for who she was.

 

She slowly emerged from her sweater cocoon, standing up against the railing and looking at the ship. It was really nice, most floating restaurants weren’t seaworthy but this was definitely a beautiful old ship, remodeled as a restaurant. She wondered where it had sailed before being anchored like this if it still sailed around occasionally. As the sea-air brushed through her hair, she wondered if maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad to work here, at least for a time.

 

She buried her hands in her red hoodie, sinking into it and feeling it’s comfort. She knew that she might pass without the hoodie. Some of the women’s clothing that she’d gotten through Star and her mom looked really good on her, no one would look at her and think she was a guy. Princess Marco passed 100%, but Marcie didn’t. She’d replaced the black jeans with a black skirt and leggings and her brown sneakers with cute brown boots. That, combined with her hair and a bit of makeup made her undeniably feminine, but the gender-neutral hoodie seemed to throw some people off.

 

She nuzzled her chin against the soft, familiar fabric. When she’d started feeling ashamed of how her body was changing, the thick hoodie had become a shield to hide behind, providing comfort and allowing her to not feel so self-conscious. 

 

Now though, she was supposed to move onto the next stage, sprout from a sweater-shaped trappings and soar like a beautiful butterfly. So why couldn’t she bear the idea of throwing the hoodie and it’s sisters away?

 

“So. Tell me about it, let me into that deep pit you call logic?” Star skipped back to her side, leaning against the railing next to her. 

 

Marcie shrugged “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s like I know where I want to go but I don’t know how to get there.”

 

Star chuckled “well you’re one step ahead of me then. I don’t even know where I wanna go, and you KNOW I don’t know what I’m doing, like ever.”

 

Marcie grinned “I guess that’s true. Sorry I’m such a bummer lately, it’s like whenever I stop for a moment I find something new to fret about.” her eyes fell to the wooden deck.

 

“Marcie…” Star put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder “you were always a bummer.”

 

She scoffed “wha..!? Not even!” 

 

Star laughed “total bummer, from the moment I met you.”

 

Marcie pushed her jokingly, Star’s response was to immediately tackle her to the ground. Marcie wrestled against Star, she play-fought like an angry wolf cub, thankfully she didn’t have Marcie’s expert karate skills, so she couldn’t do any real damage.

 

Marcie locked Star underneath her, smiling to herself “who’s the bummer now” she said victoriously. “Argh!” a sharp pain shot through her wrist as Star’s teeth sank into it. 

 

Star wrested herself out of the grip and quickly got to her feet, standing above Marcie with a victorious smile. “You didn’t say no biting!” 

 

Marcie ran a hand across her pained wrist “I shouldn’t have to! It’s always no biting! Always! If no one says biting’s allowed, just assume no biting!” 

 

Star scoffed, brushing hair behind her ear “that’s dumb, biting’s the best part. Always assume biting!” Star smiled broadly, extending her hand down towards her friend.

 

Marcie shook her head, taking Star’s hand and allowing herself to be pulled up. She found herself smiling at the absurdity and realized that was probably the blonde’s plan with the fight. 

 

“Maybe you’re right Star” Marcie admitted.

 

“right!? biting is hilarious!”

 

“What? No, not about that. About needing to get out of my own head for a change and just have fun.”

 

“Yas!” Star squeezed her hand “never think, just do!” she struck a bold pose, staring out over the sea.

 

“Star” Marcie chuckled “that’s the worst advice I’ve ever heard.” 

 

“Maybe so, but it’s also great advice, cause it’s what you need right now.” 

 

Marcie raised a skeptical eyebrow.

 

Star rolled her eyes “it’s like eating your vegetables. Sure it’s good advice when you haven’t eaten your vegetables, but what if you JUST ate Marcie? what then!? You’ll end up eating vegetables forever! And then what?” Star grabbed a hold of Marcie’s face, hugging her head against her own, her tone growing serious and her eyes narrowed to slits “you’ll get really bad diarrhea.”

 

Marcie laughed at the crude joke, more surprised than amused, pushing her away and being met with another bodyslam from the spunky butterfly, this time she was ready though and managed to easily hold her at a distance, avoiding the exaggerated attempts at biting into her arms. 

 

As she put Star into a headlock she realized that Star was probably right. There was no perfect advice that was always applicable, except maybe to brush after every meal, but what she needed now was to do what she wanted and enjoy herself as Marcie, instead of being weighed down by her doubts and insecurities about who she was and what that was going to mean long term.

 

Marcie let go of Star who weaved back, getting ready for a counterattack but stopped as she saw Marcie’s gentle smile. “Ready to head back home?” she asked, wanting to see a movie with Star and not worry about all that stuff if only just today.

 

Star scoffed loudly “no way! we’d miss our first shift!”

 

Marcie grinned “come on Star, there’s no way you’d get hired just like that.”

 

“Oh yea?” Star grinned teasingly, holding out a signed contract in front of her “except I was Marcie, that’s right. In yo face!”

 

Marcie blinked a few times, completely baffled. “But... “

 

Star grinned, clearly reveling in being right. “Aaaand, check it out!” she produced a cute but formal uniform. It was a mix between a formal women’s waiter uniform and a pirate uniform, with the tight white top, black skirt and black vest, but with loose sleeves, V-neck and boots. “Isn’t it cute? I thought you’d just love it!”

  
  


It was very cute, quiet and unobtrusive but feminine and sweet, as well as just a bit geeky. A good blend of Marcie’s qualities and it wasn’t trying too hard to be anything but pretty but professional. 

 

Marcie realized that she actually really wanted to wear the uniform, that the prospect of working with Star during spring-break while she figured herself out in public, while still being away from people she knew, might be exactly what she needed.

 

She smiled softly, running a strand of hair behind her ear “well… I do like boats so… maybe. I mean yes. Yea, let's do it Star.” She grinned, allowing her enthusiasm to shine through.

 

Star’s grin widened “yes! alright! Star and Marcie taking on the world!” she grabbed Marcie, pulling her close and raising a triumphant fist towards the sky.

 

Marcie could only smile, as worried as she thought she maybe should be, she couldn’t get herself to be anything but excited.

 

* * *

 

Being a waitress and kitchen girl at a floating sushi restaurant was as glamorous as it sounded. The customers were often rude or pretentious, and they seemed to not grasp the basic way to use a toilet based on how much and how often it had to be cleaned and the boss was demanding and uncompromising. Marcie loved it.

 

Her boss, miss Suki, was harsh and to the point, she demanded hard work, professionalism, and discipline. Marcie had to make sure to not accidentally refer to the woman as ‘sensei’ out of habit from the dojo, as her instruction carried the weight and authority of a master.

 

It had been a few days and Marcie had picked up the tasks quickly, obviously, she didn’t love every individual aspect of the job, she could do without the aforementioned latrine cleanings, but as a whole it felt like she was finally getting out of her own head and doing something worthwhile which she enjoyed.

 

Noone they met knew her as anything but Marcie the waitress, and she seemed to be passing completely, meaning no strange looks, no questions. It meant that while she was working here, she wasn’t a transwoman, she was just a normal girl, and whether Star had known or not, it was completely what she had needed.

 

Speaking of Star, she was intent on keeping her promise of no magical shenanigans and was managing to do everything the human way. She wasn’t used to working as hard as she was forced to now, but she refused to complain if Marcie didn’t. 

 

Marcie hoped Star was enjoying herself, but she really did seem to be. Of course, Suki seemed to get within a hairsbreadth of firing the blonde butterfly every day, as pure enthusiasm wasn’t enough to make up for a complete lack of training in practical skills. Star just wasn’t used to working with her hands, or feet, or anything that wasn’t magic really.

 

She finished polishing off the last of the tables on Star’s side of the room, well in time for the dinner-rush to begin. Star was still painstakingly working on her second table as Suki entered, sighing deeply as she saw Star wiping grime in a circle on the table, doing nothing to actually clean except moving dirt around.

 

The sushi chef and restauranteur gave Star a dangerous look which was met with a childish, enthusiastic smile. Marcie half smiled at the woman, seeing a wrinkle appear on her forehead. She hoped she wasn’t going to scold Star again, it obviously did little to get through to the princess.

 

Instead, Suki took a deep breath, looking to the brunette, “good job Marcie.” She smiled encouragingly “you’re like a one-woman crew.” The kind words filled Marcie’s heart, it was one thing to be encouraged by her parents, they’d praise her no matter what she did, but praise from someone who only cared about whether she did good or bad, and who thought she was doing well, that was an amazing feeling.

 

“Yea she’s great isn’t she! Way faster than me” Star piped up, seemingly blind to the implications of her words.

 

“Yes Star, it’s almost like Marcie had to get used to doing the job of two people.” Suki smiled through gritted teeth, the forehead wrinkle having returned.

 

“I know right? With Marcie here I barely have to do anything” Star smiled broadly, as unaware of the wrath she was incurring as a butterfly entering a spiders web.

 

Suki’s eye twitched slightly, her face growing redder. She opened her mouth to speak but the first of the dinner guests walked in before she could. “Oh look! Customers! Better go get ready in the kitchen haha” Marcie gently nudged Suki into the backroom before she could come down on her friend.

 

Marcie quickly took the customers orders and finished setting up. She wanted to talk to Star about proper work ethics and more importantly, staying on Suki’s good side, but as more customers started pouring in they were forced to wait tables, and Marcie couldn’t find time alone with her.

 

She found herself spacing out as she worked. She was trying to figure out how best to talk to Star. She didn’t want to be rude, and she didn’t want Star to think she was doing anything wrong. Of course she WAS doing something wrong, namely, the work that she was supposed to be doing was almost universally wrong! But it’s not like Marcie could just come out and tell her that she was doing poorly, at least she was moderately decent at waiting tables.

 

Marcie looked over and saw Star talking to a group of frightened-looking customers. “... and that’s when I grew my wings! They’re really small and cute now, do you wanna see them?” she began fumbling with her clothes, Marcie wanted to believe that she wasn’t going to disrobe in the middle of a restaurant, but she, unfortunately, knew better.

 

She rushed to Star’s side, giving the customer’s an apologetic smile as she pushed the protesting Star away from them. She looked around to find that things were a bit calmer now, though she still hadn’t figured out what she was going to say to her.

 

“Star, please! You have to be more professional.” Marcie sounded harsher than she’d intended, the words came out more from concern for her friend than malice towards her. The truth is that Marcie didn’t mind working twice as hard if it meant working beside Star, and losing her because Suki lost her patience with the princesses shenanigans was a tragic thought.

 

Star gasped audibly, clearly offended. “I am so professional!” 

 

Marcie shook her head, she was about to lay some truth on Star’s unique brand of waitressing, when out of the corner of her eye she saw something so terrifying, so horrifying it made her immediately hide behind the counter. She grasped at the shoulders of her outfit, becoming keenly aware that she wasn’t wearing her hoodie, she suddenly felt so exposed and vulnerable.

 

Star raised an eyebrow at Marcie, looking down at the girl who was suddenly shrinking into herself like a jellyfish under high heat. “I mean… I’m sorry, I’m not really angry I swear.” Star placed a hand on her hip, tasting her own words for a moment “and like, it’s true. Maybe I could stand to be a bit more like you when we’re working. It’s just, I get so caught up in everything and nothing all at once.” 

 

Star tabbed her foot against the floor “I promise I’ll do better if you promise we can go swimming tonight like we talked about?” she wheedled, knowing that Marcie would have fun with it if she could force herself to get in the water. Working with Marcie was always working through hurdles, once Marcie jumped it was almost always with joy and elegance, getting her to try was almost always a challenge though.

 

“Star?” a pleasantly surprised husky voice rang out next to Star, bringing her out of her thoughts and making her instantly realize what had happened to Marcie.

 

“Jackie!” Star looked at the white-haired punker, her hair done up in a bun in an effort to appease her parents wishes to dress up, but her clothes completely unchanged from her regular attire. Star swallowed, unsure what to do, Marcie was practically shaking behind the counter, out of Jackie’s view. Star chuckled nervously “what are you doing here?”

 

Jackie crossed her arms, “I’m here with my parents, what are you doing here? Mewni treasury run dry and now you’re forced into hard labor?”

 

Star scoffed “Nah, nothing like that. Besides, the Treasury can’t run dry anymore, not since we abandoned the idea of liquidizing our assets. It’s much safer now that it’s solid.”

 

Jackie chuckled, unsure if Star was serious or joking. Her smile quickly fell into the kind of serious expression that rarely graced the carefree skater’s features. She leaned her butt against the counter, allowing her to not have to face Star directly, she wasn’t great at feeling vulnerable.

 

“Star.” Jackie’s tone send a cold chill through both Star and Marcie, they knew if Jackie was serious that it was well, serious. “Where’s Marco? He started dodging me a while ago and then suddenly it feels like he completely ghosted me.”

 

Star and Marcie gulped in unison, they both wanted to tell her, but Star couldn’t, she couldn’t just tell someone else’s secret. Marcie wanted to but her body wouldn’t move, she couldn’t even get herself to breathe. 

 

“It’s not like I cared or anything I mean… We had fun right?” Jackie brushed her hand behind her ear, her fingers noticeably trembling. “I just… I thought he at least cared enough to tell me if he was going to just disappear.” Jackie tried to summon anger and frustration, but all that came up was a sense of being discarded, of loneliness.

 

Jackie sighed deeply “I don’t know… Maybe he never cared in the first place. I just… I really thought…” Jackie hadn’t planned to unload on Star or anyone like this, but somehow once she finally started putting her feelings to words they wouldn’t stop.

 

“Jackie!” Marcie’s palms slammed onto the counter, tears were streaming down her face, but her eyes were filled with intense determination. 

 

Jackie stood frozen, looking at her with barely held back tears. “Marco…? You…”

 

Marcie stumbled at words as much as Jackie did, she wanted to say everything but somehow it was all getting stuck in her throat, unable to make it past her lips. 

 

“Sooooo…” Star scratched the back of her head “I’m gonna go, I think there’s like 20 people waiting to be seated. And  _ someone _ has to be professional around here haha… yea… I’m gonna go.” She dashed away, skipping hastily towards the ticked off customers.

 

Jackie chuckled despite herself “Star and professional, never thought I’d hear her say something like that. To think I used to think she was cool.”

 

Marcie let the tension defuse a bit inside herself, wiping her tears and giving a trying smile to Jackie “don’t worry, it was a passive aggressive remark aimed at me.”

 

“Oh good! I thought she’d gone full conformist on me.” 

 

“Well, how do you know she isn’t already a huge conformist, maybe she’s just a conformist by Mewni standards.” Marcie smiled.

 

Jackie chuckled, shaking her head “yea well, maybe you’re a dork by earth standards.”

 

“Hey now, I’m cool! Karate is getting a resurgence, it’s going to be cool again very soon and then you’ll see who's the dork!”

 

Jackie shook her head, it was so easy to slip back into comfortable banter, it almost made her forget the last few months of feeling rejected, almost. Her lip curled downwards “maybe you’re a jerk by earth standards.” 

 

Marcie retracted a bit, rubbing the back of her head “yea… that’s probably fair. I’m sorry Jackie, I really am.” She looked up at Jackie, her eyes shining with sincerity, she desperately hoped that she was able to show just how much she meant it, if not in a moment like this, then at least in the future. She hoped that she hadn’t blown her chances forever.

 

Jackie’s eyes scanned Marcie’s face, she looked for a moment like she was ready to forgive her, but her expression quickly turned harsh. “That’s not good enough you dingus. What the hell Marco. What happened? Are we still together? Where have you been?!” 

 

Marcie tapped her fingers against the counter, she took a deep cleansing breath “I’m sorry… I should have told you, I just… I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

 

Jackie crossed her arms, staring her down “so what? It was easier to just ignore me?”

 

Marcie swallowed, she wished she could say that she hadn’t ignored her. She hadn’t been trying to obviously, but she hadn’t realized how much her actions were going to hurt Jackie. that wasn’t an excuse though. In fact, it just proved that she’d been selfish, that she hadn’t been able to think of anyone’s feelings but her own.

 

She took a deep breath, looking up at Jackie’s face, her nostrils flaring, her eyes sharp, but with a clear hint of abandonment. She deserved to know so much more than Marcie had realized. “Jackie I… ok here’s the truth. Just… ok, let me start at the beginning. As you know I was born in spring…”

 

“Marco!” Jackie cut through her story, glaring at her to get to the point.

 

“Right… sorry. So um… 5 months ago…”

 

“Marcie!” Star yelled out from across the room, breaking her flow once again. 

 

Marcie looked up towards Star “Hey! that’s relevant to the story!” she yelled out frustratedly. 

 

Star was on the ground, tied against a table, as were most of the other customers, including Jackie’s parents. Marcie’s eyes went wide as she saw about a dozen rough looking people, brandishing swords, some of them tying up the last of the customers and some of them approaching Jackie and her. The group would have a hard time looking more like pirates if they tried. The apparent leader even had a wooden parrot perched on her shoulder. 

 

Two pirates dashed towards them and were swiftly knocked to the floor by Marcie’s flawless karate moves. The remaining pirates all exchanged looks, surprised at the small girl’s apparent martial prowess. 

 

The captain who was a fierce looking woman in her mid 30’s, short black hair, the aforementioned parrot, and a large hat. She stepped forward, whistling in an impressed manner “nice moves girly, ever thought of joining a proper crew?” she asked with a sly smile.

 

Marcie took a stance, holding out a flat hand towards the captain “sorry lady, I know crime doesn’t pay!”

 

The captain looked around at her crew “no it can actually be quite lucrative.” She said matter of factly.

 

Before Marcie could come up with another badass one-liner, one of the pirates turned to the captain, she was a large and rough looking woman with pink hair and a pegleg “Actually cpt’n, we’ve not been paid very well in a long time. Maybe we’d have more luck in a less competitive field, like lumber farming, or makeup tutorials on the internet.”

 

The captain clenched her fist hard, glaring down the crewmate “the only reason we’re not rolling in dubloons is that we didn’t have a ship!”

 

Another crewmate piped up, this one a skinny man with barely a tooth in his mouth “and also because they ‘aven’t minted dubloons since 1849.”

 

The captain grit her teeth, her face growing red with anger “we are NOT having this conversation in front of the captives!”

 

Marcie scratched her face “actually it’s alright. We’re used to this sort of thing, it sounds like you have some issues. If you want we can take a time-out and you can work through it. We-” Marcie pointed between herself and Jackie “- were actually in the middle of a really important conversation.”

 

The captain looked like she was about to burst with anger, she opened her mouth to scream an order, but was interrupted by the sudden rocking of the ship. The sounds of a ship moving, and the sensation of the moving waves made it evident that the normally completely anchored ship had begun making its way out to sea.

 

A pretty young girl, not much older than Marcie, poked her head into the restaurant “got ‘er runnin’ cpt’n, I mean obviously. Just…” she folded her hands together awkwardly, realizing she didn’t really have much reason to have reported back, she began sweating as everyone stared at her, making her further unable to finish her sentence.

 

“Good!” the captain broke the silence “at least SOMEone can do their jobs around here.”

 

The crew all frowned at her, the one who had protested first spoke up again “that’s not fair, we try our best…”

 

“If you try your best, then why are there still civilians runnin’ around, uncaptured!?”

 

“Well… she looks like she’s pretty good at fighting…” she pouted.

 

The captain groaned loudly, bringing out a switchblade “you! taekwondork, surrender or blondie gets it” she held the blade up in front of the tied down Star. 

 

Marcie’s eyes narrowed, she glared at the pirate, thinking for a second about whether she could somehow win in this situation, but she had to concede. She raised her hands in surrender with a sigh. Jackie and she were tied up next to Star.

 

Star shot her an apologetic smile “sorry… took me by surprise.”

 

Marcie leaned against the table, testing her restraints. They might not be the most unified group, but they tied a mean knot. “It’s ok. Can you magic us out of this?”

 

Star shot her a sheepish look “well I could… if I had my wand. But you said no magic so… I left it at home.”

 

“You did what!?”

 

“well, I didn’t expect pirates! ugh…! I’m so stupid! You should always expect pirates!”

 

Marcie grinned, letting out a soft sigh “well, I appreciate the sentiment, but how are we getting out of this?”

 

“Do you have your extra-dimensional scissors?”

 

“Well yea, always have them with me.” Marcie thought for a moment “but… this outfit doesn’t have pockets… the scissors are in my hoodie” she realized. “Why don’t dresses have pockets!? They should make a hoodie dress, a Droodie!”

 

Jackie snorted, causing Marcie to freeze, she’d gotten caught up in the moment, she’d forgotten Jackie was there. “Totally,” she said “I’ve been saying that for years. But you’re probably going to have to get used to that Marcie, pockets, and girls clothes are apparently like oil and water in the eyes of the industry.” Jackie shot Marcie a knowing smile.

 

Marcie’s mouth was open slightly, her mouth dry and her hands clammy, “I… you… I mean… how did you…”

 

Jackie scoffed “come on, hardly takes a rocket scientist. Wasn’t sure until Star called you Marcie though.”

 

“oh…” Marcie wanted to brush a hand through her hair, but her wrist was still tied to the chair “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

 

Jackie looked at her with a concerned look “did you think I wouldn’t understand?”

 

The brunette shook her head “no I knew you’d get it. I was almost certain you’d be supportive too. It’s just…” Marcie braced herself, trying to find the words to say amongst the hundreds of times she’d envisioned having this conversation. “I’ve liked you for so long Jackie. And we finally start dating and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been!”

 

Jackie’s eyes widened, a faint blush snuck onto her face “really?” 

 

“are you kidding? totally!” Marcie grinned sincerely, “heck, if it wasn’t for that I might never have been able to finally come out to myself. It’s like… when you get everything you thought you wanted, but you realize a huge piece is still missing.” She sighed “maybe that sounds selfish actually.”

 

“A little bit, yea.” A woman piped up behind them.

 

“This isn’t about you mom!” Jackie snapped at her with a common kind of teenage angst that Marcie hadn’t expected her to have, but it was nice seeing her be human too. Jackie sighed, looking at Marcie “I don’t think it’s selfish to want to be happy. Go on.”

 

Marcie smiled softly “well, I’ve always thought I’d be happier as a girl, but I always thought it was stupid and impossible. That was until I had to disguise myself as a princess to get into a boarding school.”

 

Jackie raised a questioning eyebrow.

 

“Look if I have to tell you everything we’ll be here all day. I’ll give you the full version later if you want it.” Marcie assured her “anyway, I got to be a princess for a day and it actually felt really nice. It just felt right y’kno?”

 

Jackie shrugged, her eyes piercing at her, she was listening so intently.

 

“Well, after that I had a hard time going fully back to my old life. So I started doing these Vlogs as a princess. And that helped a lot, like, more than anything I’ve ever done. Felt like my mind calmed down a bit for the first time in my life. Thought everything was fine until…”

 

Marcie bit her lip, “well until we started dating. It was great for a time but then I had this dream. We were on our first date but instead of the old me, it was princess me and you on the date. After I woke up I tried to forget it but… I never could. I realized that was exactly what I’d always wanted and that lying to myself was just causing me more grief.”

 

Marcie couldn’t stop fidgeting, she felt like she was doing pretty well but she also felt like she’d been talking for hours, was she rambling? She was definitely rambling. She tried to tell herself to wrap it up.

 

“I guess I realized that I had a choice. Either I could get the princess of my dreams or I could be the princess of my dreams. At first, I picked you, obviously, being a girl was a pipe dream, nothing more. But it’s the kind of thing where… after you realize it, it’s really hard to shake. I feel like I never chose to be Marcie over being with you. It’s more like, I got to a point where I couldn’t be Marco anymore, it just, I just couldn’t.”

 

Jackie cleared her throat, speaking for the first time to break Marcie’s monologue “why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“I was afraid I guess? And hopeful kind of? Like… there was a minuscule chance that you’d actually like the real me enough to keep dating me. And as long as I hadn’t told you I didn’t have to face that you almost certainly wouldn’t.”

 

“That’s dumb Marcie.” Jackie asserted. 

 

“I know…”

 

“And selfish.”

 

“Yea, I know…”

 

Jackie sighed “but I guess I can kind of understand your feelings.” she admitted.

 

Marcie looked up at her, Jackie was smiling cautiously, sweetly. “What… does that mean?” Marcie heard herself ask before she could tell herself to not ask it.

 

“I don’t know yet. I guess I have to get to know you better again. We’ll see.” 

 

Marcie nodded slowly, the torture of trying to date Jackie Lynn might have just begun anew for her, but at least she wasn’t back to square one. In the swirl of emotions, she was feeling she allowed herself to be cautiously optimistic.

 

“There is one thing though” Jackie began. She suddenly burst free from her restraints, revealing that she’d been sawing at the ropes with a large safety pin. She stood, looking towards the one pirate who was guarding them, who looked at Jackie with complete shock and awe, having been completely immersed in Jackie and Marcie’s drama. Before the pirate could react, she was knocked over the head with a tray, she fell to the ground. 

 

Jackie threw the half of the tray that hadn’t broken on impact back on the table. She fastened the safety pin back in her earlobe and kneeled down to untie Marcie. 

 

“I’m no one's princess-” she smiled coyly at Marcie who had never been so in love with her. As she was untied, she looked up to find Jackie already on her legs again, reaching a hand down towards her “-but if you play your cards right, maybe I’ll let you be mine.”

 

Marcie felt her face flaring up in possibly her biggest blush ever. Her body refused to respond to her and she simply mindlessly took Jackie’s hand, allowing her to help her to stand. 

 

Marcie found herself standing behind Jackie, helping her untie the others, wondering if she’d ever regained the ability to speak. As they got everyone freed, Jackie stood in front of the crowd, speaking with the kind of commanding voice that Marcie felt like she’d follow into a volcano.

 

“Alright listen up everyone. This cruise is gonna make an unexpected stop at mutiny bay. Take down the pirates who fight you and tie them up in here, then get the captain, and make her walk the plank!”

 

“Jackie!” her mom piped up from the crowd.

 

“ok fine, we’ll give her over to the proper authorities,” she said with a sigh. “whose with me!?”

 

The crowd cheered. It turned out taking down a group of pirates who don’t seem overly enthused about piracy was a lot easier than most of the fights Marcie had been in. Still, fighting alongside the love of her life had to go down as one of the best fights she’d ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed reading.
> 
> This is my first Star Vs. fic and I'm still trying to get a sense for the tone and feel of the characters. If you felt they came through as themselves please tell me in the comments, and especially tell me if you felt they were off, and why.


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